Improvement in pressers for circular-knitting m achines



F; WICKWIRE.

, PRESSER FOR CIRCULAR KNITTING'MACHI'NES.

No.179,637. Patented July 4.1876.

Witnesses Inventor $26K m/o fimawa, m fiwnlwm NJETERS.IPHOTO-LITHOGRAFHER, WASHINGTON, D. c,

UNITED STATES PATENT Grrren.

FRANK WIOKWIRE, or TROY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT lN PRESSERS FOR CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. I 79,637, dated July 4,1876; application filed March 8, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK WIOKWIRE, of the city of Troy, county ofRensselaer and State .of New York, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Pressers for Circular-Knitting Machines; of whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, referencebeinghad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of thisspecification.

Figure 1 is a plan of a presser complete,

showing the holder and glass united. Fig. 2 is a view in perspective ofthe holder, and Fig. 3 of the glass.

A is the holder, and B the glass.

The nature of my invention consists in making pressers forcircular-knitting machines in two parts-the part which comes in contactwith the needles to be made of glass, and the part which is fastened tothe standard of the machine to be made of metal or other suitablematerial-the two parts to be united, as hereinafter described.

The object of my invention is to avoid the friction of the needles ofthe machine, and the consequent serration of the edge of thepresser, andother consequent difficulties hereinafter explained, so that a moreuniform quality of knit goods may be produced.

Pressers for circular-knittin g machines have been heretofore made ofmetal, and in two forms, one circular and the other oblong.

The circular presser revolves on a pivot, and

" the oblong presser is necessarily stationary.

When heavy yarn is being knit, the circular presser is generally used,but when the machine is put upon a lighter grade of yarn, the oblongpresser is substituted. The reason for such substitution is that theoblong presser extends from the sinker wheel far enough to keep thebarbs of the needles pressed close to the eyes until the stitches areraised above the barbs by the landing-wheel, thereby, in a measure,preventing fine yarn from dropping out of the needles.

The circular presser is preferable on yarn which is heavy enough to holditself in the needles, because this presser revolves, and the frictionof the needlesis, therefore, very slight.

Friction is the chief difficulty with metal presses. The hard steelneedles working against the presser necessarily produces great friction.The friction generates heat in the presser, and the presser then expandssufiiciently to crowd the barbs of the needles to such an extent thatsome of them are frequently forced to one side of the eyes of theneedles. When a barb is thus pushed to one side of the eye instead ofdirectly against it, the stitch on the needle cannot pass off from theneedle, and the following stitches on this needle then collect under thebarb until the barb or the needle is broken, which is sometimes followedby the breakage of many other needles. This friction also produces, in ashort time, a rough and serrated edge upon the metal presser, whichdestroys the needles and damages the article in process of manufacture.

When the barb of a needle is forced to one side of the eye it causes atuck stitch, and when a needle breaks it causes a long dropstitch in thecloth, because a broken needle can take no stitch. These tuck and dropstitches injure the quality of the goods materially. They have to betaken up by hand, but cannot be fully restored, nor the damage to thegoods remedied to any extent.

The breakage of needles not only injures the goods, but racks andinjures the machine,

causes delay and loss of time, and loss of needies, which constitute alargeitem of expense. The breakage of needles per day is from five 'toten per cent., ordinarily, and is almost enof gum-shellacor otheradhesive substance, I-

secure the other part of tho presser, which is made of a thin piece ofglass of the proper length, and slightly concave on the inner side.

If, by accident or otherwise, the glass gets broken, another piece canbe readily inserted in its place.

Circular pressers can be made of these two parts, but as no friction norheat is produced "and not with the holder.

by the needles against the glass, the oblong form can be used on allgrades of yarn, thereby avoiding the necessity of changing the presserswhen the grade of yarn is changed. The needles come in contact with theglass,

No friction is produced by the needles against the hard and smoothsurface of the glass, and no roughening of the edge by the action of theneedles, which almost entirely removes the difficulties experienced inthe use of pressers made of metal.

7 Another advantage is, that pressers can be made as above described ata less cost than of metal.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination, as before set forth, of a FRANK W IOK WIRE.

Witnesses EDWARD F. GREEN, N. DAVENPORT.

